According to this article in the Star Tribune, a library which can only hold 40 people at a time may take over the hospitality loungue of an old brewery complex.
\”Imagine showing up at your public library and being told you can\’t go in. That happens sometimes at the Pierre Bottineau branch library in northeast Minneapolis. It\’s the city\’s smallest library.
According to this article in the Star Tribune, a library which can only hold 40 people at a time may take over the hospitality loungue of an old brewery complex.
\”Imagine showing up at your public library and being told you can\’t go in. That happens sometimes at the Pierre Bottineau branch library in northeast Minneapolis. It\’s the city\’s smallest library.
\”It\’s small enough to fit in the lobby of the downtown library — twice. It\’s small enough that the fire marshal allows no more than 40 people into the building.\”
\”We have a sign that says \’The library is now full,\’ which is kind of strange. But most people understand,\” said librarian Gloria Busch.\”
\”The cure for the Bottineau library may be just over two blocks away at a familiar landmark, the Grain Belt brewery complex. The Library Board is pursuing a proposal that could mean a library six times bigger would open at the brewery\’s former Gasthaus in two to three years.\”
\”The Gasthaus (literally \”guest house,\” but a term applied to an inn) was the hospitality room for people touring the brewery — before it was closed in 1976. It was a place where people could enjoy a free beer and mingle with brewery workers. It sits next to what was once the brewery\’s park, which featured deer, a pond with an illuminated fountain and occasional oompah bands.\”
\”The Gasthaus goes back even further than its faux chalet facade would suggest. There are two historical buildings: a steel-framed, metal-sided wagon shop built in 1893 and a millwright shop built of brick in 1913.\”
\”The latter is the more valuable building in the eyes of the Minnesota Historical Society, but it\’s hoping that at least the steel frame of the former can be incorporated into a new library. Some new construction probably would be necessary to provide adequate space for the library. An existing, modern concrete addition to the Gasthaus would be razed.\”
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